Previously, we reported that Ilaiyaraaja's legal team filed a suit against Vanitha Vijaykumar's Mrs & Mr for unauthorised use of a song from Michael Madana Kama Rajan. On Monday, the Madras High Court declined to grant any ex parte interim relief in a civil suit filed by the composer.
The 'Siva Rathiri' song from Kamal Haasan's Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990) has reportedly been used without permission in Mrs & Mr. He accused Vanitha Film Productions of unauthorisedly using the song along with misusing his personality rights in the film.
Hearing the case, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy ruled that no interim relief could be provided without giving the other party an opportunity to respond. Vanitha Films Productions was then granted a week's time to file a counter-affidavit.
Ilaiyaraaja's legal team had filed a case in the Chennai High Court seeking the removal of the song from Mrs & Mr, helmed by Vanitha and starring her alongside dance choreographer Robert. Further, he sought a permanent injunction restraining the production company from using his personality or image for the film’s promotional materials.
The composer also asked that the production company be ordered to reveal any earnings made from the purported exploitation of his personality rights.
Alongside the lawsuit, two interim applications were submitted: one calling for the song to be taken out of the movie right away, and the other asking for a halt to the sale, showing, or broadcast of the film that contains the disputed music.
When the matter was taken up, Justice Ramamoorthy observed that it needed to be clarified whether the producer of Michael Madana Kama Rajan had indeed sold the rights to the song in question.
A Saravanan, Ilaiyarajaa's attorney, maintained that the original producer only had restricted usage rights to the 1990 movie and that the composer kept complete rights to the song.
Senior attorney Sridhar Moorthy, representing Vanitha Film Productions, argued that his client had obtained the song's usage rights from an audio business. Additionally, he noted that a related case involving Sony Music, Ilaiyarajaa, and Echo Recording is presently proceeding before a High Court Division Bench.
Sridhar asked for more time to get instructions from his client and provide a thorough affidavit in response to the judge's questioning on the production company's usage of Ilaiyarajaa's personality rights in promotional materials.
A follow-up hearing has been scheduled for next week.
